Sometimes, You Just Need To Stop
by HarriSparrow
Summary: Oneshot; fluffy drabble. Ludwig finds it hard to take holidays, stop his strict regime and tight schedules to relax and get away from his timetables and work. He often falls victim to exhaustion and, whilst nations are immortal – near invincible – they still need to sleep. Luckily, most of them have someone there to remind them of this. T for suggestive content. Not beta'd yet.


_**- Sometimes You Just Need To Stop –**_

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_Summary: _Oneshot; fluffy drabble. Ludwig finds it hard to take holidays, stop his strict regime and tight schedules to relax and get away from his timetables and work. He often falls victim to exhaustion and, whilst nations are immortal – near invincible – they still need to sleep. Luckily, most of them have someone there to remind them of this.

_Genre: Romance_

_Rating: K+/T _

_Character/s: Germany, Veneziano _

_Pairing/s: Ludwig/Feliciano Vargas_

_Author's Note: Plotless story is plotless. And pointless. Complete and utter pointless fluff. Oh well, at least it is something. I do plan on trying to finish all the fics I have started, but I'm going through a rough patch and school's a bitch so I don't have much time. When I do, my box of motivation is empty or some other crap comes up. Ah, I'm ranting and swearing, forgive me. Well, enjoy!_

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_**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia**_

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_It's late._

Ludwig tore his gaze away from the clock, his eyes aching and dry behind his glasses. He was used to long hours of work, staying up until the early hours to complete paperwork and make a start on other, just as important, projects. Others would worry about him, especially the humans he knew and worked with. They often commented on the dark rings and bags under his eyes; how, on some days, he would come into work looking more than a little worse-for-wear and how he became more irritable and snappish towards others. Ironically, those who mention this usually left quickly for fear of aggravating the man further – which happened more often than not. It was no secret that Ludwig had – in retrospect – a bad habit of staying up late, working late, sleeping late, rising early, constantly working then repeating the cycle over and over for weeks on end. It wasn't common knowledge either, but as the months passed, it was becoming more and more obvious, even to the point where his boss had suspended him from work and sent him home on a three-month sick leave. Ludwig had tried to explain to both the president and the chancellor that, as a nation, he could not – or should not – stop his work and that he, being the _Bundesrepublik Deutschland_, did not require the same things that humans would.

It had been, unsurprisingly, in vain, since Ludwig now found himself stuck at his house for six very long, very boring weeks. But, considering he had been given time off, he decided to spend a majority of those weeks at the residence of _Italia Veneziano_.

…

Feliciano had been very glad to see Ludwig and had welcomed him into the house with a hug, a kiss (or few) and steered him straight to the couch. "You're here to relax," the young man had said, a huge, happy grin on his face as he brushed off Ludwig's offers to help with dinner, "And I'll make sure you will." Watching the other man hurry into the kitchen, hearing the roar of the extractor fan, the German couldn't help the small smile curving the corners of his mouth. He'd phoned ahead to tell his partner that he would be staying for about six weeks before he would return to Germany to keep an eye on things. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how Ludwig looked at it), Ludwig's boss had already phoned ahead, assuming that her country's plan would be to stay in North Italy, to tell Feliciano about Ludwig's predicament. This meant that, he would be staying, instead, for two months.

Not that Ludwig cared, really. He'd stay for all three months, if he wasn't afraid his brother would burn the house down, of course.

Feliciano had also decided that, every weekend, he would hand his workload over to his brother (Ludwig was surprise to see how much smaller the piles of paperwork had become since his last visit), and spend his time with Ludwig. The other had asked, rather reluctantly – as if he were afraid of the answer – whether it would be okay. But the cheerful Italian had just grinned and ushered Ludwig out of the door. He'd also received a cheeky smirk and a rather appealing promise whispered in his ear as they made their way to the car that made his cheeks flush.

But, it didn't last long. Not a month into his 'holiday' and Ludwig had already located the Italian's paperwork and had proceeded to make himself at him in the Italian's office. Feliciano had tried, but Ludwig was having none of it. He was becoming anxious and, Feliciano decided, really needed something _constructive_ to do. Ludwig always seemed to need to have something to do; he never seemed to be able to relax properly and even when he did, he always would be trying to do _something _to keep his mind occupied.

…

There was a knock on the door. Ludwig – who was developing a headache and a rather sharp pain behind his eyes – jumped slightly, turning his head to stare at the door behind him. It opened slowly, Feliciano peering inside. His eyebrows were drawn together, a slight crease between them, and he had adopted a tight, concerned expression on his usually bright, relaxed features. He walked slowly inside as Ludwig turned back around in his seat, dropping his shoulders with a sigh, eyes shut as he adjusted his glasses and rubbed circles into his temples. He heard Feliciano come to a stop behind him, a pair of familiar hands resting on the junction of his neck and shoulders. Ludwig tipped his head back, feeling Feliciano's strong thumbs working into the muscles between his shoulder blades, working out the knots that had developed there. As Feliciano hit a particularly sore spot, the blonde arched his back, hearing the bones crack in his spine as he let out a stuttering grunt.

"That feel good?"

"Y-yes– Ah, just there, please."

With a small smile, unseen by Ludwig, Feliciano pressed his thumbs harder into the German's back, digging them hard into the muscle there. Ludwig let out a hiss, rolling his shoulders back and head dropping forward with a grimace. It hurt, but the more Feliciano did it, the lesser the pain in his shoulders became and the more relaxed he felt. After a few moments, he allowed himself a happy hum, relaxing his back and tipping his head backwards to look at Feliciano. The Italian grinned, releasing the blonde's shoulders and carding a hand through Ludwig's hair, making it stick up at the back. It was loose, unrestricted by gel and his fringe fell over his eyes, obscuring his vision just a little. Feliciano found it rather sexy most of the time, though today…

"Cute," he teased, flicking the others nose. Pale brows twitched slightly and Ludwig's cheeks coloured a little as Feliciano pressed kisses to his brow and cheeks. "Though I thought you had gone to bed, Luddi."

"Needed something to do," Ludwig sighed, rolling his shoulders and slumping in his seat. Feliciano shifted behind him and he felt his breath ruffle the short hair behind his ear. One hand slipped under his shirt, drawing shapes across his chest and down his stomach. Ludwig hummed.

"You should be resting – you're exhausted and you're going to make-"

"Make myself ill," Ludwig huffed, sounding child-like and pouty. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

Feliciano chuckled, noticing the tone, and nuzzled his ear. He retracted his hand, smoothing it over the German's shoulder and fiddling with the collar of his shirt. They he murmured something in Italian, grinning against the blonde's neck. Ludwig frowned, "Shut up."

"_Bambino."_

"Shut up."

"_Kleine."_

"Am not, shush."

"_Schätzchen."_

"I am not, shut u– oh."

Feliciano straightened and crossed his arms over his chest, "And I thought you were supposed to speak fluent German, _Herr_ _Deutschland_." He grinned, eyes following the other as he rose from the chair and abandoned the papers on the desk. Ludwig flashed Feliciano a tired, white-toothed smile and linked his hand with one of the Italian's own. The young nation's grin softened into a warm smile and he tilted his head up slightly to share a kiss with Ludwig.

"You should be asleep," Feliciano muttered, running the tip of his nose along the side of the German's.

"I know, I need to be doing... _something_. It's just… I dunno…" Ludwig trailed off, hand resting on Feliciano's hip. The Italian copied the action.

"Stop, Luddi. You need to rest, you need to stop. Just stop."

"I can't," the other mumbled, threading his fingers with the Italian's.

"You can." Ludwig could hear the thinly-veiled urgency in the other's voice. "You have to, Luddi. Nations can still get sick from exhaustion, you know that. Natural disasters or the feelings of our people aren't the cause of every illness we get."

Ludwig nodded, leaning down to rest his head in the junction of Feliciano's neck. There were a few minutes of silence, broken by the quiet tick-tock of the clock behind them and the sound of their breathing. A moment, and Ludwig pulled back to press a chaste kiss against Feliciano's lips. The other smiled, returning the kiss with slightly more vigour. As Ludwig moved his hand, trailed it up Feliciano's chest, slid it over the Italian's jaw to cup his cheek, the other pulled back slightly, a wry arm circling around the other's waist, "Bed, now."

Ludwig made a noise in the back of his throat as Feliciano pulled away completely, hand wrapped around his wrist as he tugged him out of the study and across the hall. He let the other press him against the door of the small, dark bedroom they often shared as it shut behind them, let him press tender, bruising kisses against his lips and neck. He let him unbutton his shirt, and help discard their clothes. They stumbled over the bed, laughing quietly as they tripped and stumbled over their jeans and staggered to sit on the end of the bed. Ludwig found himself staring up at the outline of Feliciano, watching the bright spots of light in his eyes as the other moved closer.

"Massage or…?" Feliciano trailed off, reading the soft glow in the other's eyes and grinning. "Ve, okay then."

"'Ve'?"

"Oh shush."

So Ludwig let Feliciano push him onto the bed, onto his front – let him take charge and take control for a moment. Warm hands pressed against his back, strong, artists' fingers kneading into the muscles of his shoulders and lower back. He let out a soft, contented sigh, relaxing into the bed. Warm lips skimmed down his neck, scattering warm kisses across his shoulder blades as strong thumbs pressed into the knots in the small of his back. He grunted slightly, feeling Feliciano's weight shift where he was sat on the back of his thighs. The Italian muttered something unintelligible, smiling against Ludwig's shoulder as he nuzzled against the other. The blonde smiled, wiggling slightly and melting into the mattress. Five, maybe ten minutes later and Ludwig rolled onto his back, feeling tired and calm. He settled back against the pillows, hearing the other pull the covers up over them, letting Feliciano slip in between his legs, link their fingers and tangle their legs together. He tilted his head and excepted a series of slow, open-mouthed kisses as he trailed a hand up and down the blonde's side.

While he liked to work, as much as he enjoyed it and the tight, orderly regime it followed, Ludwig decided that, every once in a while, it wasn't bad to hand the baton over and let someone else take control. Just sometimes, it was good to relax and spend time away from his desk as his duty as _Bundersrepublik Deutschland_. Especially if he could spend that time with his brilliant, amazing Feliciano and that perfect smile that made everything better again.

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Reviews with con-crit are greatly appreciated. And, just blowing my own trumpet here: harrison642 . tumblr .com (with out the spaces. There'll be previews and fanart on here, just to let you know~)

**_Translations:_**

**Bundesrepublik Deutschland **German Republic (German)

**Bambino **Baby (Italian)

**Kleine **Baby (German)

**Schätzchen **The affectionate way of calling someone 'baby'. Kind of like 'treasure' or 'hun'/'honey'. A bit of a play on words for poor, confused Ludwig, I guess. (German)

Thanks for reading! :)


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